Slapped
by Miss FairyTales
Summary: Two Shot. Mal and Evie have returned from their day out with friends. There is something wrong with Mal. Ben tries his best to help her. (Sorry for the bad summary)
1. Chapter 1

Ben was seated with his parents in the family room of their castle. The fire was going. Belle and Adam were cuddled together on one couch. Ben was on the other, wishing Mal was with him. But she had yet to arrive. She had gone out a few hours earlier with Evie, Audrey, Jane, and Lonnie. She was supposed to be back already. Knowing the girls, though, he knew that they would be a little late. They always were.

"Mal! Come back here!" He heard Evie yelling. He was more than surprised. The girls were early, by their standards, and Evie was yelling at Mal. Neither of those things ever happened. He saw a purple blur rush past him and his parents. Then, he saw a blue one, but this one stopped. "Mal! Why are you running?!"

"Evie? What's going on?" Ben asked as Evie jumped in surprise. Her eyes widened as she noticed the royal family for the first time. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth.

"Oh, that's why she's running," Evie whispered, her voice barely audible. "Sorry, to intrude. I should be going." She gave a small curtsey as she took off after Mal. Ben looked to his parents, they seemed confused by the two women as well. They heard a loud bang not long after. They knew the sound well. It was Mal slamming her door shut. Ben immediately stood and headed over to his wife's room. They may have been married, but Mal had a separate room for whenever she needed some space. Ben didn't mind though. He was just glad that she had stopped running away whenever she wanted to be by herself. He was always worried about her when she left to be on her own, but at least now he knew exactly where she was. As he neared the door, he heard muffled chatter on the other side. He gently knocked.

"Mal, sweetie, is everything okay?" He asked softly. The talking immediately stopped.

"Go away Ben!" Mal yelled, but she didn't sound angry. She sounded hurt and upset.

"Mal, can we talk about this?" Ben questioned as he softly knocked again.

"I said go away!" He heard something hit the door with a muffled thud. She was throwing pillows at the door in an effort to get him to leave. It didn't work the last few times she had done it, so he wondered why she thought it would work this time. The talking resumed, but he kept quiet. He leaned against the door, allowing his wife some alone time with her best friend. After a few minutes, Belle and Adam made their way down the hall to find their son sitting on the floor against the door, staring off into space.

"Ben? Dear, what's going on?" Belle asked.

Ben simply shrugged. "She wants some space."

"Did she say why?" Adam questioned as Ben shook his head.

"I stopped asking when she starting throwing pillows."

Adam and Belle shared a small smile. They know they shouldn't, but they always found it funny when Mal started throwing pillows everywhere. It reminded them of when Ben used to have tantrums as a kid.

Sometime later, Evie finally opened the door. She looked irritated. "You can come in now." A few pillows were still flying around the room. As Evie stepped aside, and Ben moved forward, one hit him squarely in the face. The force of the throw, and the surprise element of it, caused him to stumble back a little. His parents caught him before he fell over.

"You have quite the arm," Ben stated as he regained his balance.

"Sorry," Mal said with wide eyes as she watched the scene unfold. She was sat in the middle of the floor. She quickly put her head in her hands.

"It's no problem," Ben replied as he moved closer. "Mind telling us what this is all about?" As he got closer, he noticed how red one of her wrists was, and how it was already starting to bruise. Same with Evie. Mal stayed quiet. He sat down in front of her. "What happened to your wrists?" He directed the question more towards Evie than Mal, because he knew his wife probably wouldn't answer.

"Chad," She growled out.

"What about Chad?" Belle asked as she sat down next to her daughter-in-law. She placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"We ran into him when we were leaving the mall. By then, the other girls had already left and his girlfriend was off somewhere doing who knows what," Evie recalled as she moved to sit on the disheveled bed.

"He found out that Evie and Doug are next in line for the throne since Snow and Florian don't have any kids," Mal explained quietly, shocking the royal family.

"That's great, Evie!" Belle congratulated as Evie offered a small smile of thanks.

"That's not all, is it?" Adam asked as Mal and Evie grimly shook their heads. Mal finally lifted her head, only to reveal a hand shaped bruise on her cheek. Ben and Adam growled at the sight. She turned to Evie, who already knew what she wanted. Evie handed the purple haired woman her purse. Mal took a deep breath before opening it. She stuck her hand in and pulled out a small white stick. Belle gasped upon seeing it. It was a pregnancy test. And it was positive.

"He found out I was pregnant," Mal added as Ben glanced in between her and the small stick with wide eyes.

"You're… you're pregnant?" Ben asked slowly as Mal nodded.

"I only found out this morning. When Chad found out, he was furious," Mal explained as Ben's anger grew. How dare Chad lay his hands on his wife? How dare he even _think_ about slapping a pregnant woman?

"I'm going to go talk to Chad," Ben muttered as he stood. Mal quickly gripped his hand, pulling herself up.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" Mal asked quietly. Ben wrapped her in a hug.

"Never at you," Ben responded as he kissed his wife.

"Promise me you won't so anything stupid?" Mal pleaded as Ben smiled.

"I promise." With that, Mal released him, even though she didn't quite believe him, as Belle and Adam hugged the soon to be mother of their first grandchild and the future heir to Auradon's throne. Ben stormed off to find the man he once called a friend.

* * *

 **Hey guys and gals! This is just a short one shot. I wrote it a while ago, so I thought I would just upload it. It's my first one shot. If you want another chapter, just let me know. I hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 2

Ben was livid as he stormed through the halls of Auradon Castle. He couldn't believe that his former best friend had laid his hands on two women. He laid his hands on a pregnant queen and the future heir of Auradon and a soon to be queen. He laid his hands on his wife and his unborn child and the woman he thought of as a sister. Although, after he really thought about it, he could believe it. He just didn't want to. Chad has the nicest, kindest, sweetest family that Ben had ever met. His parents were said to be the kindest rulers that their people had ever seen. Even his siblings turned out as generous as their parents. Yet, somehow, Chad took more after his step grandmother than his own parents. It had always baffled Ben and the rest of their group.

As he neared the front door, Ben dialed a familiar number. The number of his brother-in-law. His older sister, Beth, had gotten married to Chad's older brother Chris. No one was particularly excited about having to invite Chad to family events, but family was family. No matter what, or who.

"Hello?" Chris asked through the phone as Ben headed down the last flight of stairs. He sounded tired.

"Hey, Chris. It's Ben. How are you and Beth doing?" Ben greeted as he reached the long hallway. He started off on a good note. He didn't really want to bother the man about his younger brother just yet, especially at this hour. It wasn't particularly late, but Ben knew how busy his brother-in-law could get. He had only just finished work himself. But, he didn't know who else to call regarding Chad's whereabouts.

"Ben, we're both alright, thanks. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Are you busy?" Ben questioned.

"No more so than usual."

"Do you know where your brother is right now?"

"Chad? I think he's still at the mall with Anxelin and Ruby. Why?"

"He and I need to have a chat," Ben growled out as he reached the front door. Lumiere appeared before him. Silently asking where the King needed to go. Ben mouthed 'mall'. Lumiere nodded before proceeding to arrange a car.

"What did he do this time?" Chris sighed. He sounded even more tired than before. And he was. Always having to clean up after his younger brother was really taking its toll on him.

"He hurt Mal and Evie," Ben explained as he exited the castle. He could see the car pulling up.

"What?!" Chris knew how much Ben cared for both Mal and Evie. He cared deeply for both girls as well. They were family. Mal and Evie were best friends with Beth. "Why in Auradon would he do such a thing?!"

"Evie and Doug are taking over for Snow and Mal is pregnant," Ben entered the awaiting car and closed the door behind him.

"Well… congrats on having a child," Chris tried to lighten the mood just a bit.

"Thanks," Ben muttered half-heartedly. Don't get him wrong. He was ecstatic that Mal was pregnant with his child. More than ecstatic, really. There probably wasn't a word to describe how happy he was. But the whole Chad situation was really bringing his mood down. He couldn't enjoy the idea of him and Mal being parents when he knew that someone had hurt her. Someone that he had once considered to be a friend. One of his oldest friends.

"Hold on Ben. Beth wants to talk to you for a minute," Chris informed as Ben mumbled an okay. He heard muffled noises as the phone was passed along.

"Ben?" his sister called.

"Yes, Beth. I'm here."

"Okay. I know this whole situation is just awful. No one wants to punch Chad in the face more than I do right now. But you know that violence is never the answer. You'll only make things worse. The media will blow it out of proportion again and the next you know, you'll have a war with Charmington. Please, please, _please_ don't do anything stupid," Beth pleaded as Ben gently rolled his eyes.

"You sound just like Mal. Besides, since when are you the voice of reason?"

"Hey, I can be serious too. And who else is going to make sure that you don't get yourself killed?"

"Mal," Ben responded simply as his sister laughed. "What's so funny?"

"No. Mal loves you to pieces, and you love her, but we all know that you never listen to her. When she tells you not to do something you just go and do it anyway!"

"Okay, maybe you're right," Ben replied sheepishly as he glanced out the window. They were both too stubborn for their own good. Mal would usually cave and do whatever Ben asked because she loved him so much but getting Ben to do something was a completely different story.

"Knowing Mal, she would probably kill you for doing something stupid. And if you're already dead, she would bring you back to life, so she could kill you herself," Beth joked. There was amusement laced through her voice and Ben could hear Chris laughing in the background.

"Yeah, you're right," Ben laughed along with his sister. It sounded exactly like something Mal would do.

The laughter died down as Beth became serious once again, "Seriously, though, Ben, don't do anything stupid. Don't physically hurt Chad. Promise me?"

Ben sighed, "I promise that I won't do anything stupid or hurt Chad. But do something for me?"

"Anything," Beth replied.

"Call Mal," Ben requested. "And just be there whenever she needs help with anything." Beth had been pregnant three times since she got married. Her first pregnancy was a success. She and Chris had a baby boy name Charles. The second pregnancy had been a miscarriage, unfortunately. The third pregnancy was another success and resulted in the couple having a baby girl named Brooke.

"I can do one better," Beth responded. "How about we go stay at the castle for a little while?" Beth directed the question towards her husband. The two had a quiet conversation that only lasted for a couple of seconds. "It's settled then. I'll call Mal tonight and then we'll head over first thing tomorrow morning."

Ben smiled. "I'm sure Mal will love that. Thank you."

"There's no need to thank us, Ben. She's family. And family must stick together."

After that, they said their goodbyes and hung up. His sister had been successful in calming him down, but Ben knew that it wouldn't last long. As soon as he saw Chad's face, his anger would reach a new high.

They couldn't reach the mall fast enough. Ben was getting antsy. He just wanted to get there already. As his car pulled up to the entrance of the mall, Ben hoped that Chad hadn't left already. He would be deeply annoyed if the blond man had left the mall prior to his arrival.

Ben walked throughout the mall; he wasn't sure where to go. The mall was huge and Chad could literally be anywhere.

He stopped when he saw a familiar figure standing by the fountain. He had sleek blond hair and a light blue suit on. Ben couldn't really see his face, but he knew that it was Chad. Just from the way he held himself. His thought were confirmed when a blonde woman, about his height, walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. A slightly smaller brunette woman followed her. She stood idly to the side and waited. Anxelin and Ruby. The daughters of Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder, or Eugene. Anxelin and Chad were dating. And, much to Chad's annoyance, the girls hardly ever traveled separately.

Ben stalked up to the group with a scowl on his face. Upon seeing him, Ruby gave him a friendly smile. Ruby's smile turned into a frown when she noticed his expression. She quickly patted her sister's shoulder to get her attention. Anxelin turned and looked at Ruby, who whispered something to her. Anxelin then glanced around and saw Ben storming towards their little trio. She frowned as well before stepping aside. Chad looked in the direction that the two woman were to see what had soured their mood.

"Ben? What are you doing here?" Chad questioned innocently.

"You know exactly what I'm doing here, Chad," Ben practically growled out the sentence. There was obvious anger in his voice. He was annoyed that he had to be dragged away from his wife to deal with this stupid situation. They could be celebrating with Evie and his parents. Or sitting together and relaxing. But no, he had to be here.

Chad crosses his arms. "No. I don't. Care to explain?"

"I'm here because of Mal and Evie."

"Oh well, you just missed them. I saw them leave a little while ago," Chad said nonchalantly. As if nothing was wrong.

"I _know_ where _my wife_ is. I'm not looking for her. I'm looking for you."

"Why would you need to see me? Did I miss a meeting or something?" He was still trying to act all innocent. Ben was fed up with this.

"I know what you did Chad. Mal and Evie told me everything."

"Everything?" Chad asked carefully as Anxelin leaned forward.

"Yes. Everything."

"And what exactly did he do?" Anxelin asked, but she feared the answer. She knew what Chad was capable of doing and what he had done in the past.

"Mal and Evie came home today from the mall with bruises," Ben explained as he pointed an angry finger at Chad, "from you."

Anxelin and Ruby grew wide eyes. Ruby was always hanging around their group. She and Jane were like best friends.

"Yeah, well they deserved what they got," Chad muttered as Ben gave him a hard glare. "That witch is evil and has you under some type of spell. I'm only trying to help you," Chad stated as if his word was law. Ben growled at the blond prince.

"If there is anyone who deserves to be slapped, it's you!" Ben scoffed as a crowd started to gather around them. Neither of the two men noticed though. They were too wrapped in their conversation. Well, it was more like a fight or argument than a conversation. "You know, you should really be thanking Mal and Beth right now."

Chad glared at the young king. "And why is that?"

Ben gave Chad a serious look. "My promise to them is the only thing that's keeping you alive right now."

"She's controlling you and you don't even realize. It's bad enough that we have one villain as a queen and one as my sister-in-law, but you have another thing coming if you think I'm going to allow that blue haired witch to take over Snow's kingdom," Chad snarled as a few gasps and murmurs were heard from the crowd. They were shocked to say the least. They hadn't known that Snow was handing her kingdom to Evie. And they didn't think that Chad would be so rude about it. Especially in front of Ben, of all people.

Ben closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. It was all he could do to stop himself from physically hurting Chad.

"It's not like you can stop her. Her mother is the former queen. Villain or not, it's not going to change the royal records. Since Snow has no kids, Evie is the rightful heir. By law. Any attempt to stop her will be seen as treason against her kingdom. Or maybe an act of war."

"That is a bunch of crap and you know it!"

"No, Chad. You're a bunch of crap."

Chad looked furious. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means that you're no better than the villains that are still trapped on the Isle."

"Oh yeah? And why is that?"

"Yeah. And don't act so innocent! All throughout high school you manipulated girls into doing all your work for you. You bullied kids into letting you cheat off them. Not to mention how you treat all of your girlfriends like crap." Anxelin looked down as she slowly rubbed her arm. She could feel the curious glances that were being thrown her way. "Oh, and the only reason you are even going to be crowned the king of Charmington is because Chris didn't want the throne and Heather felt bad for you!"

Chad was livid and speechless. His face turned a bright shade of red. Ben couldn't tell if it was because he was that angry or that embarrassed. "That… That's not true!"

"You know it's a fact. Why lie about it now?"

"Lying? I'm not lying! Only villains lie. Like those witches that you allowed to take over Auradon."

"Mal and Evie are much better people than you'll ever be. And you grew up in Auradon. They grew up in the worst possible place imaginable. Yet they have more kindness in their little fingers than you'll ever have in your entire body."

Chad fumed. If they were in a cartoon, he would have smoke coming out of his ears. But he didn't know what else to say. He simply stood there, at a loss for words.

Satisfied that he had beat Chad, Ben turned to leave.

"Hey! This isn't over!" Chad yelled out towards Ben's back.

"Oh yes it is!" Ben called back as he stopped and turned to address the blond prince. Chad stormer towards Ben.

"No it is not! You are going to take back what you said about me!"

"Why should I?" Ben fired back. "It's the honest truth. You can ask anyone." Chad actually had the audacity to take a swing at Ben. The latter ducking in time to avoid the punch. He would have given Chad a black eye, but he had promised.

"That was uncalled for!" Anxelin chastised her boyfriend.

"Oh, shut up! No one cares!" Chad angrily yelled at her.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Keep talking, why don't ya? Go ahead and prove Ben's point!"

There were more murmurs. For the first time, Chad looked around. He saw the crowd that had gathered. They had witnessed everything. Some of them had even recorded it.

"Those witches will pay for this," Chad seethed through gritted teeth.

Ruby scoffed at him. "The only one at fault is you! Why don't you just grow up and start taking responsibility for your actions like everyone else!" She grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her away.

Ben gave Chad one last look before walking away himself.

Chad remained where he stood. A scowl etched onto his face. After a few minutes, the crowd started to disperse. They grew bored of watching the prince. Chad was officially beat. He was officially alone.

When Ben returned to the castle he couldn't help but sigh as he leaned against the door. He placed a hand over his face. He hoped that this would be the last time that he had to deal with Chad.

"Ben?"

Ben removed his hand as he looked up. He couldn't help but smile. "Hello beautiful."

Mal rolled her eyes at him. "How are you?" There was worry in her eyes.

"I'm fine. And before you ask, no, I didn't do anything stupid. How are you?"

Mal slowly made her way forward. She carefully checked to make sure he was alright. "That's… good. I'm good. But, how are you?"

"Mal… I'm-"

"Don't lie to me. I know you're not fine."

Ben sighed. "You're right. I'm not. I'm just tired of dealing with Chad and all of his crap."

"Yeah, I can tell. You're starting to get gray hairs," Mal joked as she ruffled his hair. Ben protested as Mal giggled. He swiftly picked her up and spun her around as she squealed. He gently put her back down before placing a kiss on her forehead.

"I love you," He whispered into her hair as he pulled her in closer.

"I love you too, Benny boo."


End file.
